1. It Dared To Be Great
Great television is a very subjective point of view. There are so many different ideas and perceptions that it is inevitably a losing battle to argue for an objective perspective. But I would like to believe, somewhere out in the ether, there exists at least a general definition of what great television is, and Enterprise often meets that definition. No other Star Trek series dare touch racism on Earth's soil, no other series dealt with interpersonal relationships in such a mature way. Enterprise broke ground in terms of serialization and prequels on network television, things that were difficult to parse even for Hollywood. Even the camerawork was fresh and exciting (in my opinion, having a greater influence on handicam use in television than 24). But what led Enterprise to greatness most often was its heart and ambition. Enterprise seemed practically doomed from the start, with the winding down of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the failure of Firefly and the loss of other action adventure shows, American audiences seemed less interested in science fiction television. But Enterprise continued on and kept trying to tell the stories it wanted to tell, despite mismanagement, studio pressure and meddling, and budget constraints. And what stories. This show wanted to break down humanity and look at how we could be as great as these characters, and how these characters could become part of the greater Star Trek legacy. The fact that it failed as many times as it succeeded hurts, but it's the fact that they tried that counts. Enterprise did suck, but only in that it never quite reached the heights it was aiming for, and could have reached had it had time, because if there is anything worse than ambition, it is ambition tempered by failure. As it stands, we have this incredibly flawed, yet incredibly moving set of 98 episodes. And I'm happy with that, even though I'm still sore about a whole host of problems with the series itself. I can live with it. Except the Vulcans. What the hell was their problem?
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